Page 28 of A Lovely White Christmastide
“No, one of my Eton mates.”
“Those friends of yours must be quite attentive if they knew where to direct your correspondence.”
“Yes, Deane is a good ol’ man. He pays attention to every detail, which is to his advantage in his job as a personal secretary.”
Mr. Caleb Waverly grumbled something under his breath and they turned to look at him. Apparently he took offense to a conversation he could have no part in. Why Daniel did not know. It was not like he wanted to get to know them; he didn’t even want them there.
No more conversation was necessary as the ladies entered, Mrs. Barker marching dutifully in front like a guard dog. Daniel had hoped with Mrs. Waverly’s escort they would be relieved of her presence, but it seemed she took her job quite seriously.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Mrs. Waverly said as if she had not just seen them the hour before. “Are we all set?”
Nods of agreement traveled around the group and they set off. The floor where they had met had mostly public rooms: parlors, billiard, breakfast and dining rooms, but there was a small ballroom with a pianoforte in the far corner.
Half of the rooms had decorative wood appliques covering the walls, while the others were plain plaster. One was even made of plain stone, a testament to the chaos Miss Haynes said they would find at Haverton.
They were advised that the servants’ quarters were both below and above stairs, with mostly cooks and maids below, while the butler, housekeeper, valet, and lady’s maid resided on the third floor. The guest chambers also resided on the third floor but in a different area of the house.
On the second floor they were led into a portrait gallery. They had changed positions several times during the tour, but here Miss Julianna moved to stand by Daniel’s side. As in previous rooms Mr. Caleb Waverly followed, taking up the position on her right.
“Is not that a pretty picture of my aunt, Mr. Kaye?” She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. The gesture was so intimate that Daniel almost started in surprise, but when he felt a little squeeze he stopped. He locked eyes with her, the pleading in them hard to ignore.
He turned them about to look at the picture she spoke of, effectively putting her on the side away from her pursuer.
“Who is that sitting on her lap?” he asked.
“James, our cousin. He died when he was but four years old.”
Daniel frowned. The same name as his friend. How disconcerting, especially after his own friend James had nearly met his end about this same time last year. “That is truly unfortunate, but I was under the impression that the General and Mrs. Waverly had no children.”
“They do not often speak of him. It really was a sad business.”
Mr. Caleb Waverly spoke up. “Children die all the time. It makes way for the stronger of us to inherit.”
Miss Julianna flinched. The cold, calculating way the man responded made Daniel wish he could knock him upside the head. Could he not see the sadness evident in her expression?
“How long ago did this occur?” Hopefully a distraction from her cousin’s uncouth comments would help.
“Ten years. I was twelve when we received word that he’d died. That was before Mama died. I remember how much she cried.”
Daniel wanted to put a comforting arm about her but settled for squeezing her hand against his side.
“Miss Julianna,” Mr. Caleb Waverly said, catching hold of her other arm, “come look at this portrait.”
Daniel frowned. He’d not even seen the man slip behind him.
“I am busy observing this one, thank you,” Miss Julianna said.
“But the one down there is far more interesting.”
When the man gave her arm a tug she stumbled and her hand slipped out from Daniel’s elbow. With quick reflexes he caught her before she tripped over her skirts. “Have a care, man. You nearly made her fall.”
“My apologies,” the barrister said, but little remorse showed in his face.
Daniel gritted his teeth as he watched them walk away to the other end of the gallery. Miss Julianna glanced over her shoulder twice, but he decided not to follow. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt in a tug of war. Hewould,however, speak to their host. General Waverly had never condoned the mistreatment of women. Every soldier knew it and had adhered to his strict rules or suffered the punishment.
But in the meantime, Daniel had another plan.
Mrs. Barker had been caught up in conversation with Mrs. Waverly about a portrait of the woman’s great-grandfather, but when Daniel approached she abruptly stopped, her eyes traveling the length of the room to find her charges.
